When preparing designs for print, it is essential to understand how colours behave in the printing process to set realistic expectations for the final product. While we strive for consistency and accuracy, slight colour variations are a natural part of the printing process.
Ink Tolerance and Printing Standards
Printing uses a four-colour process (CMYK), which inherently involves ink tolerances. This means that:
- Slight Variance is Normal: Colours may not match your design file perfectly but will always fall within ISO standards and tolerances.
- Within-Job Variance: For jobs requiring multiple setups (such as booklets), slight differences in colour within the exact job may occur, though they will remain minimal and within tolerance.
- Reprint Differences: Future reprints may not exactly match previous runs, which is typical due to printing variations over time.
Understanding these tolerances helps you make informed decisions and ensures your designs are print-ready while maintaining realistic expectations for the final product.
Screen Colours vs. Printed Colours
Colours displayed on your screen are made up of red, green and blue light (RGB), which is fundamentally different from the ink-based CMYK printing process.
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Screen Calibration Matters: The colours you see on-screen vary depending on your monitor's calibrations. PDF Simulation Profiles: How PDFs appear in Acrobat depends on the simulation profile, which may differ from the printed outcome. |
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IMPORTANT: To minimise discrepancies, ensure you convert all spot colours to process colours before uploading your artwork. |
Colour Banding
Colour banding refers to unwanted horizontal or vertical streaks on the final printed product.
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To avoid this, we recommend against designs with large areas of solid Cyan, Magenta, Yellow or Black in your artwork. Instead, opt for composite colours (a mix of two or more CMYK colours) for optimal print results. |
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NOTE: Instead of running the risk of streaks and opting for solid black (C:0, M:0, Y:0, K:100), use the composite 4-colour black (C:82, M:80, Y:80, K:100) for a smooth, clean finish. |